Winter Clothing

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

I just ordered these tights from TE, taking advantage of their FREE SHIPPING til Nov 3rd!:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodCR_193363.html
My goal is to have them loose enough to wear over my regular long SheBeest biking/chamois tights when it's down in the 20's and 30s and windy.
Guess I'll report back if they fit right and I decide to keep them.
Anyone else here have them?

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Ok, so I just got these tights and tried them on.
Firstly, they run kind of small- most of my tights and knickers are either medium or large....these storm tights I had to wear the XL to feel comfortable (!!). Order one size up from your usual perhaps.

My goal was to wear them loosely over other tights on extra cold days, however even the XL were a bit snug in the thighs and calves when I pulled them on over my other heavy winter tights. And they don't sell any larger size than XL. :rolleyes:
HOWEVER....when I put them on alone with no other tights underneath, HOLY COW they were so cozy and felt and looked so good that I simply must keep them. :cool:
They feel like two separate layers of tights, seemingly stitched together at the various seams. The inner tights are a very soft thin fleece, and the outer 'shell' tights are more like windstopper/windpro type materials. They feel very sensual when they move, and look great. I like the bottoms of the legs- long enough, with a great ankle zipper, and they are very slightly ski-pants-like tailored so I wouldn't feel too odd wearing them around town, not like they are 'just tights'.

I can just see myself wearing these through half the winter just as daily snuggle pants working at home, then zipping out for bike errands or a quick walk in the freezing cold during the day without skipping a beat. They'll be great for my long winter walks too, and perhaps snowshoeing. They seem very warm but I've only tried them on in the house so far.
I usually need two warm tights in the winter outside, pairing various combinations of what i have, depending on the activity, so it'll be interesting to see just how warm these are all on their own in the real cold. I'm hoping they will be like two tights in one. :)

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Originally Posted by SouthernBelle

I've never had any trouble keeping my core warm on the bike, even riding in the 20s. But my extremities do get cold. Your arms aren't really doing a lot on the bike and really catch the wind.

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Makes sense. I ordered a long sleeved baselayer top by Icebreaker. I'm skeptical (by nature) about wool's wicking abilities, but the enthusiasm for wool in this group convinced me to give it a try.

Pam

Lisa, I got the shebeest windpro tight from TE (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSB_2725.html) for the very same reason you stated, to layer over shorts or a regular shebeest tech tight (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSB_2905.html) on those super cold days. It works beautifully for that purpose, and the cut is definitely loose enough to layer (I have both the inner and outer tights in small). It has a nice fleecy lining, is windproof, looks great and feels great especially paired with my shebeest windpro jacket!

Arm and leg warmers are transitional. Lets say you start a ride in the 50-60s. For that I would use arm and knee warmers. But lets say its in the 70s by the ride end, you can peel the arm and leg warmers off. Or say your morning commute is colder than your afternoon commute, same idea. If its even colder, the arm warmers let you turn a short sleeve jersey into a long sleeve one, leg warmers let you turn shorts into tights, and then you can add additional layers, vest, jacket, etc. as needed. This is especially nice when touring in the mountains where you can have huge temperature changes with altitude and time of day, but you don't want to carry a lot of gear.

Don't be skeptical about wool. I live in Ibex, not just for biking, but for everything. Same idea, layer up and down as needed. What I love is that it insulates without bulk and stink! You can bike in normal ibex if you just top it off with a cycling vest that has rear pockets (ideally in hi vis yellow!). DH was commenting the other day how all my everyday clothes now look like bike clothes. That's cuz I can wear my ibex on or off the bike. A shak with dress pants is dressy, with jeans is casual, and with cycling tights is sporty. Same thing with their base layers. I even wear their short sleeved polos and yes tank tops in warmer weather. Tanks are also great to layer under blouses. When I lost weight I got cold a lot more easily, and that is when I discovered Ibex (and I used to think I was allergic to wool, but now I have *almost* as much ibex as Lisa...........).

And to tie these threads together, my favorite piece these days for cycling are my Ibex knee warmers (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodIB_7001.html ). Perfect for fall in texas.......... And with the right socks, they can be turned into leg warmers! Their small is also sized smaller than many unisex smalls, that is the grippers fit my legs without falling down, but are pretty long. I also have the ibex arm warmers (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodIB_7000.html), but they are so warm I can only wear them on really cold days so I prefer the shebeest for fall (http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSB_8010_1.html).

I seem to have trouble keeping my extremities warm while my core is quite comfy. When it's cold enough that it's unlikely I'll want to shed layers, I often wear my arm warmers as an extra layer under my jacket. Helps that problem a lot.

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

....DH was commenting the other day how all my everyday clothes now look like bike clothes. That's cuz I can wear my ibex on or off the bike. A shak with dress pants is dressy, with jeans is casual, and with cycling tights is sporty. Same thing with their base layers. I even wear their short sleeved polos and yes tank tops in warmer weather. Tanks are also great to layer under blouses. When I lost weight I got cold a lot more easily, and that is when I discovered Ibex (and I used to think I was allergic to wool, but now I have *almost* as much ibex as Lisa...........).

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Same here, my everyday clothes are not much different from what I wear on my bike....adding a padded chamois, helmet, and an additional hi-vis item being mostly the only differences.
I used to wear black leggings under really short dresses or skirts and a warm pullover over that all the time before I started biking...didn't need to change my basic daily uniform much except to upgrade a lot of it to merino.
Six months of the year I even sleep in Ibex wool tights and a soft merino pullover. mmmmmm.......
Since I am self-employed and work at home, intersperse errands on my bike during my workday, and I use regular shoes for biking instead of clipless...I don't need to change my clothes much to hop on my bike...it all works out beautifully. :)

P.S. Triskellion....no way you'll ever have more Ibex than i do. :D

Do Smartwool socks eliminate (or lessen) the need for sock liners?

Pam

I have never worn sock liners cycling; when it's below a certain temperature, I add chemical heaters, in addition to Woolie Bullies and my booties.
I do use the silk sock liners when I x country ski. I guess you could wear them as another layer when cycling, but you would have to make sure there's enough room for circulation or you will be miserable.

I've never worn sock liners cycling... but I do wear them hiking & skiing. If your foot is moving within the boot, having a liner sort of reduces the impact of the rubbing and reduces the likelihood of blisters. I forgot to bring liners my last backpacking trip, I was wearing thick hiking smartwool socks and ended up with some massive blisters.